Sonic Master Review

Hello and welcome back to the Sonic Marathon. Today we will be talking about one of the most widely overlooked game in the Sonic Series, 8 Bit Sonic the Hedgehog on the Master System and Game Gear. Later, we will be talking about the many sequels this sub-series spawned, starting with 8 Bit Sonic the Hedgehog, or as I like to call it Sonic Master. 

Chronologically, Sonic Master takes place between Sonic 1 and Sonic CD. This game's story is almost identical to the 16 bit version's story. Dr. Robotnik is up to no good and it's up to Sonic to save the animals of south island from being corrupted by Dr. Robotnik's influence.

The game starts off similar, with you starting in green hill and all, now called simply "Hill Zone". However, the game quickly changes compared to the 16 Bit version, having you go though "Jungle Zone," "Cave Zone," the returning "Labyrinth Zone," and "Scrap Zone," which is much harder than it's 16 bit alternative. 

There are a few more differences between the 8 bit and 16 bit versions. The first is that you lose all your rings when you get hit and you can't retrieve them like you can in the 16 bit games and later entries. The second is that like Sonic 1, both the 8 Bit versions of Sonic 1 and 2 have three stages, but unlike Sonic 1 these stages are extremely short and have no rings. 

Instead they have a single boss against Robotnik or some other being, which are made much tougher than the 16 bit game's bosses thanks to you dying in one hit against every boss since you have no rings. 

The final change is how Chaos Emeralds are handled. There are 7 of them unlike the first game where there are only 6, and each one is hidden in a certain level. Chaos Emeralds don't appear in Act 3 of a zone or in Scrap Zone, but other than that you can find one in every stage of the game due to their being only 5 zones. The 7th Emerald is obtained automatically after defeating Robotnik and like the 16 bit version the ending doesn't change much if you collect the emeralds or not.

That's basically all I can say about Sonic Master. It's very simple, extremely short, and not really worth your time despite being a decent 8 bit re imagining of the first game. I'm glad they changed things up, like having none of those annoying special stages and unique modes, but due to some poor design choices like the ring issue (this was not done due to system limitations. Sonic Chaos 1 and 2 show this, and they are on the same hardware) and the extreme screen crunch on the Game Gear port, this game is heavily held back from it's potential. But even still, what reason is it for you to play this game over the original? Overall, I'd give Sonic Master a 6.5/10

8.5/10

Good

• Decent re imagining of the 16 bit original
• There are no more special stages. Thank God!
• There are new levels to explore separate from the 16 bit version, which is a great feature.

Bad

• The screen crunch on the Game Gear version make this nearly unplayable.
• You can't pick up rings after you get hit, causing many deaths.
• Boss stages have no rings, making even the simplest of bosses nerve racking.
• There is an auto scroll stage, IN A SONIC GAME!!!
• Jungle Zone has an annoying glitch that causes you to die by jumping.